Stevenson Motorsports out for Rolex title

As Stevenson Motorsports prepares for the 2013 season, it’s sort of a first-things-first approach for the Jacksonville-based race team that will be out for, well, first place in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series.

As Stevenson Motorsports prepares for the 2013 season, it’s sort of a first-things-first approach for the Jacksonville-based race team that will be out for, well, first place in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series.

A year ago Stevenson was second in the team championship race, which was certainly a solid performance but one that left team manager Mike Johnson wanting more — like leading the points chase at some point and seeing what happens after that.

“It’s weird,” Johnson said in a news release. “Stevenson has been a front-running team ever since 2008, but we’ve never actually led the championship at any point of the year. So that’s kind of a first goal…, to get to lead and then go from there and try to maintain that lead.

“We’ve had a lot of wins and a lot of podiums, but we have also had that DNF (did not finish) or two that has taken us out of the championship picture. So we have to get rid of those. I’ve always said that nobody ever really wins these championships — everybody else just loses them.

“And I still think that’s pretty true. The Audis and Ferraris have been strong in testing, but we will focus on our finishes and look to keep building momentum all year long.”

The year begins this week in Daytona Beach, where practice opens Wednesday. The Grand-Am 200 is set for a green flag Friday at 1:45 p.m. while the Rolex 24 is slated to go green at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

The full-season lineup behind the wheel will again feature young American John Edwards, 22, teaming up with speedy Scottish veteran Robin Liddell, 39. That twosome had three wins and seven podium finishes in 2012.

Joining Edwards and Liddell in their No. 57 Camaro GT.R for the season opening Rolex 24 will be Tommy Milner and Jan Magnussen, who have both raced with Stevenson in the past

“Our goal is to win the championship,” said Liddell, who has six wins and nine podium finishes the last two years. “We’ve been doing this for five years with Stevenson and we’ve come close at least a couple times. It’s just such a great environment to be in, and I really do feel like it’s a spiritual home for me.”

Along with the Rolex Series, Stevenson will again field the No. 9 Camaro G.S. R in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, with Edwards and Matt Bell, 27, sharing the duties at the wheel for the third straight year.

After a slow start last year — Edwards missed two races with a injury not related to racing — the No. 9 car closed out the season with six top 10 finishes, including one win to wind up second in the drivers championship.

Page 2 of 3 - “We like running in both series because, just like you see with the guys in NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide, the drivers are able to pick up information in one series and it helps them with the other,” Johnson said.

Bell said the team is “always learning about the car and it is getting better.”

“Being second in the driver championship and third in the team points, w had a good year last year and sorted out a lot of things with the setup and reliability,” he added. “So now it’s down to how fast can we make a street Camaro go against these Porches and BMWs and now the Aston Martin, which is basically a GT4 car.

“So I think we’re doing quite well, and if luck is in our favor, it could be a season where we take it.”